Draft mechanism



June 1924.

H. s'. HART DRAFT Mncmmrsu Filed oct., 9, 1922 Patented `inne 3, 192%.

entran sraras HARRY s. HART, ory cnicas-o, iLLrNors- DRAFT `MECHANISM- iApplication fue@ October 9,1922. Serial No. 593,219.

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e it known that l, HARRY S. HARiga citi zen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and luseful Improvements in Draft Mechanism, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates'fto a new and improved draft mechanism forrailway cars and more specifically to a construction of the supportingmeans for coupler shanks in said mechanism.Y

In earlier forms of striking castings, a separate detachable carry ironwas provided since the rear of the coupler shank carried large shouldersand it was not practical therefore to introduce the shank axiallythrough the opening in the striking casting.

iVith such constructions it was possible to replace the carry iron whenit became worn without the necessity for replacing` the entire strikingcasting. This separable construction was undesirable, however, for thereason that the carry iron retaining` members were subject to wear,breakage or displacement with consequent failure to retain the carryiron in place. Loss of the carry iron' rendered it impossible to couplethe car since in order to couple properly the coupler head must bemaintained within relatively narrow limits as to vertical height.

`While the integral striking casting and carry iron obviates thedifliculties incident to possible loss of the carry iron, it presentsother difficulties in lthat the carry iron is subject to Wear. "Whenthis wear becomes so great that the coupler head hangs lower than theproper coupling height, it then becomes necessary to replace the entirestriking casting andy carry iron. This replacement is exf pensive andrequires that the car be placed out of service for a relatively longperiod.

In order to secure the advantages of both the integral and separablecarry iron structures without the disadvantages of either, it has beenproposed to provide wear plates carried by the integral carry iron, thewear plates being removable when they become worn to such an extent asto lower the coupler head below the proper height. A construction ofthis character is shown in the patent to Neikirk, No. 1,419,508, grantedJ une 13, 1922.

In the Neikirk construction the wear plate is housed in the carry ironand the carry iron becomessubject to wear when the wear plate has beenworn down to the level of the embracing carry iron portions. Further,the

plates so related that the wear plate embraces a portion of the carryiron.

It is an additional object to provide a construction of this characterin which the wear plate is supported from the carry iron by anVautomatic centering rocker and in which the wear plate embraces aportion of both the rocker and the carry iron.

It is a further object to provide a construction in which the rockerembraces a portion of the carry iron and is in turn embraced by th'ewear plate.

Other and further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a face View of my improvedconstruction;

Figure 2 is a plan view partly in section taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1;and

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the striking casting 5 has the carry iron 6formed integrally therewith. IThe striking casting 5 is secured to theend sill by rivets 8. The lateral arms of the casting are secured to thecenter sills 9 by rivets 10. The draft lugs 11 are' secured to thecenter sills 9 by the rivets 12. The carry iron 6 is provided with theupwardly extending flange 13. The upper face of the carry viron uponeither side of the iange is formed with the arcuate depressions 14adapted to receive the rounded bearing surfaces 15 of the center ingrockers 16.

The wear plate 17 is carried upon the upper face of the rockers 16 andis provided with the upwardly extending lugs 18 em` bracing the couplershank 19 which has been indicated in broken lines in Figure 1.

As best seen in Figure 3, the wear plate 1'? is providedV with thedawnwardly extending flanges 2O which embrace the upper portions of therockers 16 and also embrace the upper portion of the carry iron flange13.

In this form Oi' constructionl a portion or' the carry iron is housed bythe rockers and portions of both rockers and carry iron are housed bythe wear plate. The readily removable parts, the rockers and wear platesthus protect the integral carry iron from" supporting the Wear plate,the wear plate housing a portion of the supporting means. 3. Ina railwaycar, an integral striking ycasting and carry iron, automatic centeringmeans comprisingl a rocker and a wear plate, the rocker embracing aportion of the carry iron.

4. In a railway car, an integral striking casting and carry iron,automat-ic centering means comprising a rocker and a wear plate, therocker embracing a portion of the carry iron, and the wear plateembracing the rocker. y

5. In a railwayl car, an'integral striking casting and carry iron,automatic centering means coii'iprising a rocker and a wear plate, aflange on the carry iron, the rocker embracing saidange, and the wearplate embracing the rocker and flange;

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 4th day of October, 1922. c A HARRY S.HART.

